


Unexpected

by digthewriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Femslash, HP: EWE, Minor Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Minor Neville Longbottom/Ginny Weasley, bookshop au, femmeslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 23:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5889292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digthewriter/pseuds/digthewriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione is a bookshop owner who gets an unexpected customer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer** : Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Hermione heard in a hushed tone as Ginny and Neville discussed one of their customers. She had no idea who they are talking about and wasn't going to ask. She was far too busy cataloguing the new arrivals and never did really have any interest in gossip.

Of course, it was too late for that now. Her new job evidently came with a lot of gossip.

When Hermione had bought over the new bookshop in Diagon Alley, she'd thought it would be a perfect thing for her. Something quiet and she would be all set. After the war, everything had been _too much._ Too loud. Too chaotic. Just too ... everything.

Needless to say, she should have started work at a library, and not a bookshop. Though she was surrounded by her favourite things, it was anything but quiet. It'd gotten worse when she'd hired Neville and Ginny to work there also. 

She loved her friends more than anything, but they were _always_ talking.

Ginny had had a good few years playing professional Quidditch, but after an injury, she'd been benched for a while, and she didn't want to return to playing professionally anymore. Nowadays, if she was at a Quidditch pitch, she was usually playing against Neville. She still beat him, though. Injury or not.

Her best friends and employees continued to gossip as she continued to catalogue. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore.

" _What are you talking about_?" she whispered sharply that made her friends cringe.

"Sorry," Neville said.

"Parkinson," Ginny answered.

"What?" Hermione turned away from them and followed their gaze.

Pansy Parkinson was in Mark Me Read for the very first time looking over the books in aisle three. Potions.

Her hair was longer than Hermione had remembered it to be. Granted the last time she'd seen the woman it'd been right after the war. She wore long, fitted, dark blue robes that were shaped around her body and stopped at her ankles, and her high heels, dark blue also, made her look half a foot taller than she was. How could she walk in those things? Hermione wondered.

Eventually, she straightened herself and walked up to her new customer.

"Hello," she said politely, "can I help you find anything?"

Parkinson gave her a sharp look that clearly said: _Leave me the fuck alone_. Maybe if they were at Hogwarts, Hermione would have picked up on the hint. But this was not Hogwarts. This was Hermione's shop. She owned every single thing here. She was _not_ going to leave Pansy Parkinson the _fuck_ alone. 

"Well. 'No, I'm just browsing', would be suffice, you now," Hermione said as she crossed her arms and stared at Parkinson. 

"Excuse me?"

"Terrible attitude, still, but I suppose I'll excuse it," Hermione said.

Parkinson looked startled by Hermione's response and Hermione lip twitched slightly. Still, she kept her ground. When Parkinson didn't say anything, Hermione spoke again.

"Let's try this again. Hello, welcome to Mark Me Read. I'm Hermione Granger, the owner of the shop. Anything I can help you find?" 

Parkinson shook her head. "No. Just looking, thanks," she said, although it sounded a bit strained.

"Brilliant. I'll be by the till. Just call for me if you need anything," Hermione said, bowed slightly, and then walked away. 

By the time she made it back to where Ginny and Neville were standing, her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe she'd just spoke like that to Pansy Parkinson. She hadn't spoken to Pansy Parkinson in half a dozen years.

"What does she want?" Ginny asked, staring in Parkinson's direction.

"She's just looking," Hermione said, and returned to her cataloguing. A few minutes later, Parkinson left the shop without purchasing anything and Hermione pretended she hadn't noticed.

-*-*-

Three days later, Parkinson was back and Hermione immediately hid behind the books in Herbology. It was bollocks, really, why was she concealing herself in her own shop? Slowly, Hermione made her way to Wizard Nonfiction where Parkinson was standing.

Today, she had her hair pulled back in a tight bun that sharpened her features even more than natural, with a bright red lipstick and just a hint of sparkly eye-shadow. Her robes were dark green, and they weren't as form fitting as the last time Hermione had seen her. Not that Hermione stared. A lot. Maybe just for few moments when Parkinson had bent down to look at the books on the bottom shelf.

"Looking for anything in particular?" Hermione asked as she rounded around the corner into Parkinson's aisle. She tried not to be creepy but she'd obviously startled the woman. "Sorry. I didn't mean—"

"I'm just looking," Parkinson snapped back.

"Very well, then." Hermione walked away, feeling defeated, not sure why. Lots of customers came in, just looked, and left. It'd never bothered her before. 

The pattern repeated a few times before Parkinson stopped coming in altogether. Hermione figured it to be a fluke and that it'd be another half a dozen years before she'd see Parkinson again. She tried not to think about how that made her sad, because it didn't make any sense. Still, Hermione did like the way Parkinson's body filled those robes and her lips—

"What's the matter?" Ginny asked, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Oh, nothing. I think I need some tea."

-*-*-

Three weeks later, Hermione got an announcement in the mail along with her invoices for her bookshop.

_Opening soon. " Caffeinated." A modern coffee shop opening in Diagon Alley!_

Hermione looked at the address and then went outside the bookshop. She had been wondering what was opening in the empty spot next to her shop and was excited to find out that it was going to be a café! Surely, her business would only excel now. People could come in, buy a book or two, and then go into the coffee shop. How wonderful!

She wondered why the owner never reached out to her before. Surely, a bookshop-café was a good combination. As she continued to wonder upon this, Neville and Ginny walked in through the front door. Hermione looked at them and gave her usual greeting. 

"Did you hear?" Ginny asked.

"About the café?" Hermione asked, waving the flyer in her hand.

" _Parkinson_ is opening that coffee shop!" Ginny said, almost in disbelief. "Years, we don't hear anything about her, well except a brief mention from Harry or Draco... and now. _Caffeinated_ , right next to our shop!"

"It'll be good for business," Hermione said.

"I hope so!" Ginny replied. 

"You know..." Neville said drawling, as if he was really thinking over his words. He took off his scarf and bunched it up in his hands. He was nervous about something. 

"Yeah?" Hermione nudged him.

"I used to have a bit of a thing for Parkinson when we were at Hogwarts," he confessed, and then immediately his cheeks flushed. 

"You what?" Ginny laughed, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's neck. "I didn't know that."

 _Me too_ , Hermione thought to herself and looked away at the latest invoice of orders.

He shrugged. "Maybe I just have a bit of a thing for feisty women," he added.

 _Me too_ , Hermione thought again.

Ginny made a small sound, causing Hermione to turn back again. "But she was a nightmare when we were at Hogwarts. I mean, I heard the stories from your first year and then on—"

"Yeah, but people change," Neville said. "Look at Draco, and Zabini. I mean you even dated Zabini—"

"Oh, don't remind me!" Ginny said and walked away. "I'm going to put our things in the office and make some tea. Now that _Caffeinated_ is opening up next door, I'm sure you two won't want to deal with my dreadful tea-making skills anymore!"

She walked away and then Hermione and Neville shared a look. Hermione had no idea how one could screw up making tea but Ginny sure did. At least she was good with customers and knew a lot about Wizarding and Muggle Sports. She dominated the Sports section at the shop. Her and Neville's expertise in sections Hermione wasn't the best at was the driving force behind hiring them. Now she was just glad for their company, as well as their knowledge.

When Ginny returned with tea in hand, Hermione was looking over a new order for books. 

"What's that?" Ginny asked, clearly reading the surprise in Hermione's face.

"It's an order. I mean, of course, but it's from Parkinson. It's listed several different books from each section, Nonfiction, Fiction, Self-help, light Potions reading, etc... I reckon that's why she was here. She was looking over what kind of books to house in her coffee shop. I wish she'd talked—"

"Well, you did scare her off," Ginny said, so helpfully.

"I did not," Hermione countered.

"You kind of did. She came in when you weren't here and spent hours, but when you were here, she was out the door in—"

"She came in when I wasn't here?" Hermione asked, unable to hide the shock from her voice.

"Yeah. She came in all the time, but I had this funny feeling that she was looking for something. But I didn't ask to help her," Ginny said smiling, "I sent Neville."

"Did she want your help?" Hermione asked Neville.

"She just asked about pricing. Buying books in bulk, that sort of thing. I don't know why she just didn't want to purchase them from the publisher directly, but I didn't suggest that, of course. I just gave her a form and told her whatever she wanted, we could get for her."

"Good on you!" Ginny said, patting Neville's back. 

"All right, let's get started on this, then," Hermione said, handing the invoice parchment to Ginny. I'll run the numbers."

-*-*-

Two days before the soft opening for Caffeinated, Hermione decided to hand-deliver the order to the shop. She packed everything with the help of Ginny and Neville, and placed a charm on the books so the box would be easy to carry.

She walked down the few steps on the sidewalk that led from Mark Me Read to Caffeinated. At first, she knocked lightly on the door but no one answered. Then, she slowly pushed the wooden door and it opened easily for her. 

There were a few people scattered about in the place, they were fixing up furniture or the wallpaper, and no one paid any attention to her. She finally walked in, box in hand, and decided to look for Parkinson.

Finally, after walking around the entire place and getting a tour (by herself) she located the owner. Parkinson was perched up on a stool, fixing the curtains by the window. Her robes snug tightly around her hips was a sight Hermione had trouble looking away from. She imagined Pansy spread out on the bed for her like that, and instead of the robes, it was the silk sheets on Hermione's bed that snugged so closely to Pansy's body. 

She shook her head trying to get _that_ mental image out of her head. That was not what she was here for. She was there to welcome Pansy Parkinson to the neighbourhood and deliver the books she'd ordered from her shop. That was it. She promised, even if it was just to herself. 

When Parkinson turned around and looked at Hermione, Hermione froze in her place.

"Hi," she said finally. 

Parkinson raised an eyebrow and looked down at Hermione. She was rather high up on that stool.

"Be careful," Hermione said. "Don't want you to fall before your café opens."

Parkinson gave Hermione a once over and then with a sort of grace that Hermione could never accomplish for herself, stepped down from the stool and walked up to her. "What do you want, Granger?"

 _You mean besides you_? "Books. I brought the books you ordered. I supposed you could add them to your decoration before the café opens for business."

"Hm. Thanks," Parkinson said and she offered to grab the box off Hermione's hands. Their hands brushed slightly and Hermione was sure her face was now a burning red. 

"Do you need help?" Hermione quickly offered as Parkinson turned to walk away with the box. 

"You're always offering it, aren't you?" Parkinson replied.

"I am. It's what I do. I help," Hermione said, nervous.

"And who helps you?" Parkinson had a teasing tone in her voice. 

Hermione shrugged and looked everywhere in the room except at Parkinson's face. "I hired Ginny and Neville to help me—"

"No," Parkinson said resolutely. She dropped the box on the floor without giving it a second thought and walked up to Hermione. "No, Hermione. Who _helps you_?" Her long finger traced Hermione's face, then down her neck, until she reached the collar of Hermione's robes. She looked down at Hermione's neck for a moment and quickly snapped her gaze to meet Hermione's. 

Hermione didn't know what to say. All she could do was stare at Parkinson's lips. Then her eyes. Then her lips again.

"Well...it has been a while since I've been _helped_ ," Hermione said. Wait? Was she flirting? Was this real? She brought her hand up and wrapped it around Parkinson's wrist. She was going to remove it off her but for some reason, her hand stayed wrapped around Parkinson's wrist, and Parkinson's hand lingered on Hermione's neck. 

"Come," Parkinson said as she removed her hand off Hermione, but Hermione's grip remained tight on Parkinson's wrist. They started to walk away from the main room of the café.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, willingly being taken away. She liked the feeling of Parkinson's skin against hers. Eventually, her grip slipped from her wrist and now they were holding hands. The feeling was warm and soft and made her feel secure for some really odd reason. Hermione never needed anyone else to make her secure.

"I'll give you a tour of my office," Parkinson said. "We'll start with the sofa."

* * *


End file.
